#return to lamrian

[garrusknight]

The new *rough draft* prototype demo is coming soon!

If you played the last one not too much has been changed but the biggest thing added is that you can now choose your outfit!

I'm really happy that we finally have this because this took a ton of editing and coding to make this!

[nightboundfanfiction]

Positions Are Open for Application!

Must be 18 years or older.

No Discord necessary but a Google account is recommended.

Flexible hours. No live chat/Discord. Part time work is fine.

Volunteering doesn't mean full time commitment.

Positions include Writers, Artists, Researchers and Testers.

Legally as this is a fan fiction project this means no payment or donations can be accepted. This means this is a hobby project for us to do in our free time which should be stress free and fun!

If interested apply below!

[mynotsohealthyobsession]

Disembodied - Part 2/8

Warning: Mention of death // Angst // Fluff

Pairings: Adrian Raines X MC // Nik Ryder X MC

Words: 1.515

Part 1 is here!

As always, tags in the reblog!

"... Something is off about her." Alex stopped stretching and walking. She was heading to Adrian's office when his voice, thanks to her new highlighted sense, reached her. 

"She is just recovering from a certainly traumatic experience. It's normal during transition." Kamilah responded, as Alex crept closer to the door. 

"It's not quite that. I can't place it." Alex leaned against the wall. She had been pretending to be Amy for a week, trying to think of the best way to proceed. She had considered talking with Adrian and everybody else but she wasn't sure how they'd take something like that seriously. They probably just would think she was traumatized. Adrian sighed on the other side of the door. "As strange as this might sound, it's almost like she isn't Amy." Alex lowered her gaze, guilty. In the few days she shared with the vampires she noticed how much they care about Amy. They all had protected her and helped her during this time, even though she couldn't return their warmth treatment completely. And she had noticed the way Adrian looked at her, affectionate and like he was wanting to say something important to Amy. Something that wasn't for her to hear but for the real Amy. "It's almost like she isn't there." Adrian let out a bitter chuckle followed by a deep sigh. "Sounds ridiculous, doesn't it?" 

"Mmh. Not completely. We both know that people change after being turned. You said it yourself." 

"I know. But I've never seen someone change this deeply." 

"Time will tell, Adrian. For now, give her space to accept her new life and embrace it." Kamilah made a pause and Adrian stayed quiet, probably thinking over her words. "You will have the chance to express your true feelings to her when she is ready." 

"I sure hope you are right. I can't even bear the thought of losing her again."

"I know, brother." Alex heard the clink of their glasses against the wood table and a few steps moving away from the couches so she hurried down the hallway. She turned to the left and walked back her steps, pretending she was just arriving.

"Hello Adrian, Kamilah." Alex smiled even though it wasn't completely sincere. 

"Good evening, Amy." Adrian nodded with a slight smile and a bit of sorrow in his eyes.

***

Amy walked into Nik's flat, frustrated. She had been trying to contact 'herself' in New York, for most of the day. To see if she could get any information about Adrian or the gang, and the situation in there, but nothing. She felt trapped, worried, and, to be honest with herself, lonely. 

"Welcome back." Said Nik, with his usual ironic tone coming from inside.

"Hey." She simply replied, walking to the bathroom. 

"Kristin called me today. Vera gave her my number since she couldn't contact you." 

"Oh yeah. My phone broke after that thing attacked me." 

"This is just ridiculous, Alex! You ignore everyone, you refuse to talk with me, what is wrong with you?!"

"I can't deal with this. I need a drink." Amy said, rushing to the door to avoid conflict. "I'm going to the bar."

"Alex! Stop!" Nik's voice resounded in the small flat as he followed her. 

"No!" Amy responded, frustrated. When she was about to take the knob, his hand grasped her wrist, making her stop.

"What the hell is happening with you?" Amy kept looking at the door. "I get that you are pissed off with me but ignoring Lamrian? Kristin?" 

"Let it go, Nik." Amy bit down her lip, trying to contain her thoughts inside her. The rage that was forming inside her. 

"She's your best friend! You fucking risked your life for her!" She turned abruptly at him.

"No, Lily Spencer is my best friend! I risked my life for her, Adrian, and the rest! I don't know Kristin! I don't know what Lamrian is! I'm not Alex, okay!?" Amy snapped with fire in her eyes. "I'm not pissed off at you 'cause I don't know you!" Nik let go of her hand, looking at her astonished, like she had just slapped him. "My name is Amy Miller, I live in New York and work in Raines Corp.! I'M NOT ALEX!" 

***

"Amy? Are you there?" Alex sighed slightly as Lily's voice filtered through the guest penthouse door. She had been reading a book about creatures that she had found on Adrian's bookshelf, trying to figure out what was happening. 

"Yeah, I'm here."

"Can I come in?" 

"Actually I'm kinda tired. I was heading to bed." 

"C'mon, girl! I have wine and blood." Lily said playfully and Alex bit her lip, thinking about it. She heavily closed the book, marking the page she was in, and hiding it in the closet. Forcing a smile, she opened the door. "Finally!"

"Sorry about that! I was making the bed." Lily observed her weirdly. 

"Really? You never do it." 

"Is that a vintage?" Alex took the bottle hoping to point the attention to that. "Never heard about this brand…" 

"What do you mean?" Lily was fully observing her, confused. "You love it." Alex smiled again as Lily kept carefully watching her. 

"I was kidding, Spencer!" Now the eyes of the other girl were looking at her suspiciously. 

"You never call me Spencer." Alex froze in place. Trying to lighten up the mood, she had slipped into old habits. "Amy, are you sure you are okay?"

"...I honestly don't know." Alex sat in the bed, looking at the floor. "Since the Turning, I've been feeling so weird. I… I feel like part of me died that day." It wasn't entirely false. After Thomas' attack and waking up in this strange body, she hadn't been herself at all. Being partly honest would make her more believed. "Sometimes I feel like I'm losing my mind." Lily sat beside her.

"I know what you mean."

"You do?"

"Yeah. I had the same feeling after my Turning. But there was something that helped me through it."

"What?"

"Your words." Lily smiled. "You told me that no matter what I still was me. And you were right." She hugged Alex by the shoulders. "And you are Amy no matter what. That doesn't change. You just need to adapt." Alex sadly nodded. If she only knew how mistaken she was. "Everything will be fine, you'll see."

"I hope you are right. Thanks, Lily." 

***

Amy kept looking at Nik slowly calming down as the realization of what she had said sank into her. 

"Oh god..." She leaned her back against the door, sliding down until she was sitting on the floor covering her face with her hands. She was shaking and a few tears slipped from under her palms, all the pent-up feelings from the past week overwhelming her. "Oh no…" She simply whispered. How did she lose control like that? She was expecting a reaction coming from Nik, a scream or even an attack, but, when she moved her hands out of her face, he was still standing in front of her, unmoving. "Nik, I–I know how this sounds. I shouldn't have told you like this, I–"

He looked down at her. "Can you prove it?" 

"What?" 

He squatted, his eyes cold like steel piercing into hers and his words sharp as knives. "Can you prove you are who you say you are and not Alex?"

Amy thought for a moment. "I can." She dried her tears. "Is Garrus still in the bar?"

"Probably. Why?" 

"I met him, Krum, and Ivy as myself when they went to New York last year. It was around Christmas."

"They met a lot of people on that trip."

"They helped us to stop a monster that looked like a freak Santa. Garrus made magic drinks that I shouldn't have been able to see but I did and he told me there was something about me, that I wasn't a regular human." 

"I need more."

"He met Adrian Raines in the 1800s here and he was happy that Adrian remembered him." A little lump formed in her throat. She missed Adrian so much. "Lily contacted Ivy through the dark web. And Adrian was the one that noticed they were hiding their true appearance." 

"You stay here. If what you said is true, we have a very unpleasant talk in front of us." Amy nodded while they both stood up. "If you try to escape…" He said opening the door. "...I will hunt you down." And he closed it behind his back, locking the door. Amy sat on the couch, shivering slightly. She wasn't sure what would happen now and that scared her. Would they blame her? If Nik wanted to know where or what had happened to Alex, she didn't have the answers. The minutes passed and her nerves took over while she waited. She didn't know how much time had passed, maybe thirty minutes or three hours, when the door opened and Nik appeared through it. He looked at her with a complex stare. 

"You said your name is Amy, right?" 

"Yeah." 

"Pack your things. We are going to New York." He went to the small bedroom.

"That's it? You don't want to ask me anything?" 

"We have a six-hour flight for that."

✨

[ladylamrian]

Is there a fic concept you have that you'd like to just explain and share because you're not sure you'll ever write it? If so, what is it?

Yes, a lot!!!!! There are A LOT. Sadly not sure if I will EVER write them so here are my ideas 😭:

My Nightbound Fanfic To-Do-List

F!MC×NikRyder

After Lord Elric's death - scene

F!MC wearing a unicorn pyjama [Oneshot]

The 3 Musketeers AU [Oneshot]

F!MC & friends playing video games and having a game night [Oneshot]

F!MC participating in the Crystaval games (magic spells, dragon riding, archery, etc)

Tialo returning to take over F!MC's duchy

F!MC saving the LIs with Garrus, Krom, Ivy & Luc

F!MC turning evil 😈😭

The Winged Unicorn [Oneshot/Mini Series]

F!MC meeting @lawrencebarkley her F!MC

Actors AU

Body Swap [Oneshot] 🐱

Nik proposes to F!MC (finally!) 😍

Royal Fae Wedding in Lamrian 👑🌹

New OCs: Elissa, Jason, Prince Sky,...

Nik making Elissa bite a lemon piece 😂

...

F!MC×CalLowell

Cookies & Cal [Oneshot]

*any ideas? I just want to do something nice for Cal stans :)

[Last Update: April 26th 2024]

⚠️ These are only the titles, I haven't started writing any of these since I have other WIPs to do and focus on. Not sure if I will ever write them by turning these ideas into fanfics. I just hope so... But sorry, no gurantee. I just wanted to share my ideas and thoughts. Anyone welcome who wants to use these ideas to write something, I'll be interested to know. Sadly, I'm not so good writing for Male Main Characters. Idk sorry, I could try making the Main Character gender-neutral, buuut... no idea. Sorry, I don't know. I don't want to mess up.

[saibug1022]

The Choices Sequels We Deserved: Part 2

These are my ideas for what we could have had, for all the sequels that should have been but were canceled. Feel free to leave any ideas or if there's another hypothetical sequel you want just let me know! I won't be doing the It Lives Anthology tho because of It Lives Within (checkout @itlivesproject, it's literally incredible, they have a demo up).

Nightbound 2

Okay, so. I have a lot of problems with the fact that we didn't get a Nightbound sequel. Number one being that we were so obviously supposed to get one. The ending of the book feels so just, rushed, like they'd already written the ending and had to go back and shoved in and changed a bunch of stuff because the stuff they had originally wouldn't make sense without a sequel to explain it. Number two is the amount of unanswered questions just...left there. So like Elementalists I am going to alter the ending of Nightbound 1 just a little to how I think it was originally or at least what I wish it was, and to fit with what I'm doing here.

Nightbound 1

Speaking of endings being rushed, Tialo, your half-brother get's exiled and it'd be such a good set up for him being the villain in book 2. Except, fun fact, he dies. There's a good chance you didn't know that, right? That would be because it's one of the scenes you get when you collect all of the tears. You get two scenes, one with Nik realizing the Fate was the one that hired him to to protect MC, saying that someone had to stop the bloodwraith and MC was the only one who could, and then she says that her, Nik, and MC's destinies are bound together by a force "beyond reckoning". Oh and we get a scene of Tialo getting eaten by either the giant alligator or a shadow monster. That's it. Just shoved in there at the end. Once again feels like it's shoved in there to wrap up a loose end, he's even swearing revenge on MC the whole time! Then he gets nommed by a random shadow monster? And don't even get me started on how obviously that scene with the Fate is setting up a second book.

Then there's the unanswered questions. Like what are MC's powers exactly? Is it just magic? And what, pray tell, is up with the Monster Tears? How can MC see them? The only other character who can is the Fate. And why does Nik have one? Why does the Fate keep calling him the "thrice-cursed son"? What exactly is the connection between Nik, MC, and the Fate? The MC and the Fate I actually understand but what makes Nik special? Isn't MC now literally the only heir to Lamrian after Thalissa dies with Tialo and Elric dead? And why does the Fate care so much about the MC? What happened with Katherine and that ghost on the Charon? Who's her employer?

I know this part about the first book in a post about writing the second is getting really long but I do want to summarize the five endings of Nightbound 1 really quick, so we're all on the same page

Going Home Ending (No Diamonds): This is the ending if you don't spend diamonds to stay with your LI. You head back to New York with Kristin and we see some scenes with each of the major characters (we see these scenes in the paid endings too, just slightly different depending on the ending): Krom and Garrus in the Graveyard Shift are making drinks and flirting. Vera is working with Ivy and Luc to get rid of her curse and it almost works but not fully, her touch now just causes pain the MC compares to "sticking your hand in water thats too hot" instead of death. Nik stalks a monster only for Katherine to swoop in and kill it then they both run off to kill another one. Cal is sitting on his porch and Octavia shows up and they decide to work together to fix the Pack. Then we flash forward to one year later with MC returning to Lamrian for the first time since Elric's death where they have a happy reunion with Thalissa and she offers to teach MC magic.

Nik Ending: MC is hunting with Nik when Katherine shows up

Vera Ending: MC is there with Vera, Ivy, and Luc when they try to break the curse

Katherine Ending: MC is hunting with Katherine and they steal his kill

Cal Ending: MC is with Cal on the porch when Octavia shows up

The only actual change I made to the ending is that Tialo didn't get nom-nommed by a big alligator

Nightbound 2

Game Mechanics

1. Polyamory

Obviously you pick your love interest in the ending. But in this that's just your main love interest at the beginning of the book

You can choose at the beginning of the book if you want to be able to romance other characters and if you say yes you can romance and date other characters with no consequences and your romance points from the first book with all the characters will carry over

Towards the end of the book, if you romanced other people your LI will approach MC and mention that they've noticed MC flirting with other people. LI will ask if they want an open relationship or an exclusive one

If MC says they do want an open relationship then them and the LI will ask who MC is in to (you'll be able to select more than one) and MC will be officially dating that person/those people. Then the LI and MC will go over boundaries for the open relationship and continue on with their lives

If MC says no then LI will ask if MC changed their mind and wants to date someone else, to which MC can say yes and then pick a different love interest or say no and the LI will be relieved and lightheartedly ask you to stop flirting with over people, MC will laugh and say yes and then you won't get romance points from anyone else

Similar to in Perfect Match, there will be differences to the ending depending on which character you have the most romance points with if you're dating 1-3 of the love interests, but if you're dating all four then it unlocks it's own special scene/ending

2. Light and Dark Points

Certain choices can give the character Light Points or Dark Points

Light Points are from "good" choices and Dark Points from the morally gray, not so heroic choices

Light and Dark points will affect certain lines of dialogue, character relationships, unlock choices, and unlock endings

General

Book 2 is going to pick up a few weeks after MC's visit to Lamrian, so a little over a year after the events of the first book

MC has been working on understanding the supernatural world more and working through their grief over Elric over the past year and then working on their magic the last few weeks

Cal and Octavia are still working on the Pack and Cal is the unofficial right hand however he isn't actually a member

Nik hasn't told MC about the Fate being the one to hire him and has been carefully avoiding all of that, focusing entirely on MC and hunting

Katherine is in the same boat, though while Nik and MC are mainly sticking to New Orleans and Louisiana, only venturing out of state when someone seeks them out with a contract, Katherine is bouncing all over the US, even venturing international every once in a while. The difference now is she has an apartment in New Orleans that she stays in between contracts and she stays in contact with MC's group

Vera started law school and moved back to New Orleans but she steers clear of her mother's world and with three Nighthunters, a werewolf high up in the Pack, and a Lord/Lady of the local fae colony, Smoke doesn't really fuck with her much other than random "gifts" like threatening Vera's professor when she fails a paper and shit like that

Plot

The book kicks off with Nik and MC (or just Nik if that wasn't your ending chasing down a shapeshifter on a seemingly regular case

But instead they get ambushed, something way more organized than the typical lone creatures

Even weirder is it wasn't just an organized group of shapeshifters, the ambush was made of a bunch of creatures that normally do not get along whatsoever: vampires, werewolves, shapeshifters, even a nymph or two

Everyone is summoned to meet up at the Graveyard Shift and discuss what the heck that was

Everyone admits they've been noticing weird things like that too; Katherine has run into organized creatures too, Vera has been seeing less and less activity from her mom, and Cal has been hearing rumors from the Pack and a few wolves even left

They start trying to follow the chain of command to figure out what's going on, leading them much deeper into the Night World of New Orleans

They encounter new creatures and places, expanding the world beyond what we've seen in Nightbound and Bloodbound

Eventually they track it all to a new player named Elwin, a powerful and rich fae banished to Earth centuries ago

[First tear scene: Elwin going to Elric for sanctuary and Elric refusing because of what Elwin did]

Elwin wants to slowly bring all of the Night World under his control then use it to take over the humans, all starting with New Orleans

So yeah, the usual choices stuff, ya know?

The group knows they need help so they reach out to an unlikely ally: Lady Smoke

She's the most powerful person in all of New Orleans and Vera points out if there's someone trying to take over her mother's turf, she'll definitely want to do something about it

Hesitantly they go and surprisingly Lady Smoke agrees with little to no convincing. The only condition she gives is that Vera talk to her. Not even she joins the family business. Supposedly it's a show of good faith to her daughter

With Smoke's help they easily find where Elwin is holed up and they go to confront him

To the surprise of literally no one, Smoke betrays them immediately

With just about half the Night World now hunting them down, the group flees to Lamrian

They stay there for a few days where Thalissa teaches MC some more magic, there are some scenes with the LI and friends, but Thalissa also sits MC down and tells them that as the sole heir of Lamrian if they want Lamrian to help them take down Elwin MC needs to start preparing to take the role on to show they truly care about Lamrian and it's people

MC is overwhelmed and has a heart to heart with their LI and they go to Thalissa for the first lesson either out of duty or want to actually take over the colony

But they only get one lesson before suddenly the wards drop except this time it wasnt for violence within the colony, it was to let something in, and they were brought down from the inside

Elwin and Smoke's people storm Lamrian, causing chaos, destruction, and death, with dozens of fae getting captured

Lamrian and the group fight back but just when they're starting to win, Katherine puts a knife to Thalissa's neck

This is when we find out Katherine, even since the first book, was working for Elwin. He was her mysterious employer and the man who trained her as a Nighthunter, like Elijah did Nik. She took down the wards

Katherine leaves with Elwin and Smoke with Thalissa in tow, leaving MC to take charge of Lamrian

For the next few days the rest of the group begins searching for the captured fae and other prisoners taken by Elwin and Smoke while MC is trying their absolute hardest to not run Lamrian into the ground and it is not going well

One day, a figure appears in the throne room and reveals himself to be Tialo who managed to sneak into Lamrian while the wards were down and hide out during the chaos

The guards go to kill him but MC stops them so they can hear him out

He makes it very clear he still doesn't like MC and fully plans to take his revenge on them

However, his conflict is with them. He still loves Lamrian and his people, and his mother, so he offers his help

MC agrees (either out of good faith or begrudgingly is up to you) on the condition he acknowledges and agrees that he has no actual power and is only helping and teaching MC

Tialo manages to agree and he guides them through ruling Lamrian while also at war, proving himself to actually be surprisingly helpful

After a few days with him, MC's friends return with the intel they need and MC is forced to put Tialo temporarily in charge of Lamrian

The rescue mission is successful but in the process MC sees just how much of New Orleans Smoke and Elwin have forced under their thumb and what it's done to the city, spurring MC into action

MC begins to try and gather the main supernatural groups of New Orleans for the fight: The Fae (Lamrian), the Werewolves (The Pack), The Witches), the Vampires

Lamrian is scared and some will join MC but not enough to be very helpful unless even Tialo, who was very public about his distrust of MC, advocates for them which depends on MC's treatment of him

The Pack is in disarray with half the wolves thinking Smoke and Elwin are right and even Octavia is hesitant of going against the two because it would put her pack at risk

Cal and MC have to work through some of the Pack's issues and if successful Octavia will offer the Pack's help but only if Cal joins the Pack again as an official member

MC can either encourage or discourage him from doing it which determines if the Pack is at the final battle

For the vampires, MC meets with the new vampire kingpin and offers a favor in return for the vampire's help, along with a good word with the Council in New York, knowing Cal has friends there (reference to Bloodbound)

MC and Nik gather as many Nighthunters as they can reach for their help and get a mixed response. Some are willing, some are willing but need to be paid, but a majority refuse to follow MC because they're half fae

So MC has to promise the Nighthunters will actually be following Nik and then them and Nik need to steal a magical artifact that will allow the two of them to communicate telepathically, therefore letting MC command the Nighthunters through Nik

The Witches entail another trip to see the Fate and plead with her

The Fate is suspiciously willing to play along, even after the payment of secrets, but it's under the condition that Nik reveals what he's been hiding from MC: the fact that him, MC, and the Fate are connected by destiny

MC is obviously upset because they had a right to know, putting them and Nik at odds right before the final battle

The final thing that happens with the fate is the discovery of a tapestry detailing the Fate's descendants which Nik is on and the Fate explains how it works when confronted (details in Nik's segment)

Lastly is the final battle and your success or failure in other chapters determines how many allies arrive to assist MC

MC has a fight with Katherine and defeats her and has to choose whether to forgive her, not forgive her, or kill her

After the battle, MC decides whether to return Tialo to banishment, lift the banishment, or execute him

Endings

After the battle is won, all that's left is the two default endings: MC returning to their life (whether as a Nighthunter or not) or MC continuing to rule Lamrian

There are three other endings made available based on your choices

If you choose to forgive Tialo, MC can abdicate the throne to Tialo and either return to their life or become an important figure in Lamrian government but without ruling

Enough Dark Points will unlock the ending that after defeating Elwin and Smoke MC can choose to take over New Orleans Nightworld themself

Enough Light Points and rather than New Orleans just going back to how it was before, MC can form New Orleans own council with a representative from each of the major factions

Nik Ryder

Throughout the book weird things have been happening with Nik

He's been having prophetic dreams, he knows things about people he has no way of knowing without any idea of how he knows it, and in combat he’s been avoiding damage because he just knows every strike before it comes

There's even a diamond scene of MC comforting him after what he thinks is just a nightmare but it's also the first hint the dreams might be more than that

While talking him through the nightmare (one of the fights in the book and how MC dies if you pick the wrong choice) he keeps stressing how real it felt and finally admits he's been having dreams of events in the book days or even weeks before it happened

Then in the Fate's house the group discovers a tapestry depicting the Fate's entire lineage, one that seems to be magical and self-updating

However the most recent descendant is actually Nik

They go confront the Fate about this and she begrudgingly explains it's why she calls Nik "thrice-cursed son"

None of his ancestors had unlocked their powers and were forced to live solitary, tragic, supernaturally-driven lives like the Fate did, specifically for the three generations before him

What makes Nik different is his connection to MC

MC's connection to magic included Nik's, and when they unlocked their abilities at the end of the first book, it also unlocked Nik's which have been slowly making themselves known

Vera, Cal, and Katherine

Vera basically is just finally fully picking a side of with her mother or against her

She feels some conflict throughout the book (and MC's responses will get Light or Dark points) and depending on MC's encouragement will either spare her mother or kill her

Cal's arc is pretty wrapped up in the chapter with the Pack

Katherine we find out was raised by Elwin similar to how Elijah Ryder raised Nik and can read Elwin's journal showing how she was manipulated

So her arc is her being conflicted between her abuser/father and her new friends

[infactnoimmasitinthemiddle]

Short drabble for day 16 of May challenge (posting a bit too early because I lack patience)

curses | mimosa | "You’re so drunk”

Book: Nightbound - Nik Ryder x F!MC (relationship can be romantic or just friendship)

MC just mentioned

Rating: Teen

**This event happens within the Nightbound book, during chapter 11 when mc goes to the market (or was it) in Lamrian with Lord Elric. Or when they are in the fae realm, if you bought the diamond scene. To be frank, it happens shortly before mc returns back to the castle.**

"Dammit!", Nik cursed as he kicked at a pebble lying by his foot. It flew and hit a nearby Fae guard on the face.

"Hey! Watch what you are doing!" The Fae guard clenched their fists as though getting ready for a fight. But Nik just sighed and walked the other way.

It was not the time for a fight. Even if he were to fight someone, he would just turn against himself, gladly. He wanted to punish himself for what he had done. How could he do this to her? How could he do this to himself?

Even the walk in the garden wasn't given him any peace. The image of Alex flashed through his mind again. The look in her eyes when she realised he was hiding such a big thing from her right from the beginning. Her soft eyes had turned into daggers that seemed to pierce into his soul. It was not a look of hatred, but of betrayal.

He kept saying to himself that he shouldn't have done that. That he could have given her the hint when he first got it. That maybe they could have figured it out together.

Nik snapped himself out of the flashbacks. He needed to think about what he should do. What he should tell her. How to get her to trust him again. But maybe that wouldn't be possible at all.

He had screwed up.

Though, that didn't mean he would give up. He would try. Maybe the odds would be in his favour.

And so, he turned and walked towards the castle, towards Alex's room.

---————- >>>>>>>> <<<<<<<< ————---

Tagging: @lilyoffandoms

Also @choicesmonthlychallenge and @choicesficwriterscreations

[mikaelsrose]

Pinterest boards: Selene | Tyril | Jude | Adeline

♡ Aftermath [T | Tyril x Selene | book 1] 

Selene faces the consequences of being wounded by Countess Zathra.

♡ Late Night Worship [E | Tyril x Selene | book 1]

Tyril and Selene have some sweaty fun.

♡ Sun Maiden [T | Tyril x Selene | book 1]

While waiting for the storm to pass, Selene starts doubting herself.

𝔟𝔩𝔞𝔡𝔢𝔰 𝔞𝔲

♡ NSFW Alphabet [E | Tyril x Selene | blades au]

♡ Hush, cup, and hold [T | Tyril x Selene | blades au]

Hand-holding prompts:

♡ Linking hands during sex [E | Tyril x Selene | blades au]

♡ Raising the other’s hand to their lips [T | Tyril x Selene | blades au]

♡ Playing with each other’s fingers / pressing the other’s hand to their cheek [T | Tyril x Selene | blades au]

♡ Possessive hand-holding [T | Tyril x Selene | blades au]

𝔪𝔬𝔡𝔢𝔯𝔫 𝔞𝔲

♡ Eastcoast [M | Tyril x Selene | modern au]

Tyril runs away from his responsibilities with a new friend.

♡ T is for Toys [E | Tyril x Selene | modern au]

At her mercy, Tyril tries something new.

Touching prompts:

♡ Washing the other's body / feeling their temperature [M/T | Tyril x Selene | modern au]

♡ Hair braiding [T | Tyril x Selene | modern au]

♡ The Secret Life of Flowers, series masterlist [M | Tyril x Selene | modern au] DISCONTINUED 

♡ The Moon Knows We’re in Love; miniseries masterlist [M | Tyril x Jude \ modern au]

𝔬𝔫𝔢 𝔰𝔥𝔬𝔱𝔰

♡ Princeling [E | Tyril x Selene | au]

A secret rendezvous of two lovers.

♡ Reyna x Tyril Headcanons ♡

♡ Reyna x Tyril taking care of the owlbear Headcanons ♡

♡ Reyna after returning from the Shadow Realm Edit+Short Fic ♡

♡ Reyna x Tyril Inspo Board ♡

♡ The Party Inspo Board ♡

♡ Reyna Inspo Board ♡

♡ Reyna x Tyril College AU ♡

♡ NSFT Tyril x Reyna Headcanons: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 ♡

♡ Tyril & Reyna + Astrid & Mal Edit by @ladylamrian ♡

♡ Reyna x Tyril NSFT Art by @cashweasel ♡

♡ Reyna and Tyril, mid chapter 14 by @mydemonsdrivealimo ♡

♡ Ghost of You [T | Tyril x Reyna | book 2, chapter 1] 

Tyril desperately searches for a way to bring Reyna back from the Shadow Realm.

♡ The Lover’s Caress [M | Tyril x Reyna | book 2, chapter 2] 

 Tyril and Reyna have a proper heart-to-heart upon her return.

♡ Starry Night [T | Tyril x Reyna | book 2, chapter 3]

Having reunited with most of her party, Reyna discovers the true extent of the traumatic events of the previous months.

♡ Moonflowers [E | Tyril x Reyna | book 2, chapter 4]

Tyril and Reyna share a steamy moment at the docks.

Pinterest boards: Niamh | Cal | Xander | Crystaval / Lamrian

♡ Darkest hour, miniseries masterlist [M | Cal x Niamh | Nightbound 2]

♡ Busy [E | Cal x Niamh | Nightbound au]

Niamh struggles to acclimatise to the pack.

♡ Wounds [T | Cal x Niamh | Nightbound au]

Niamh takes care of Cal’s wounds.

♡ Sitting on each other's lap [T | Cal x Niamh | Nightbound au] 

Cal and Niamh relax at the bayou. 

[embarrassingsmartphonegame]

Anything (Chapter 6, Final Chapter) - Nik Ryder x f!MC

Summary: After surviving an attempt on her life, she discovers there are worse fates than dying. And they’re all ice cold.

Warnings for this chapter: implied (off-screen) N*FW, discussions of trauma and therapy, a short tid bit at the end involving animal violence/death, and plenty of fluff and other domestic stuff

Links to previous chapters: one // two // three // four // five

One year later…

Nothing.

Nothing.

‘Everything.’ Leah thought fondly as she sleepily stared at the man sleeping next to her. Thin rays of golden light trailed through the spaces between the blinds of the window facing the bed, making the man in question flutter his eyes open. She smiled brightly and moved closer until she was snuggled close to him, and he lazily wrapped an arm around her.

“Too early…” Nik grumbled, pulling Leah closer to his chest with both arms. “Go back to sleep.”

“I don’t wanna get up either, but we gotta,” Leah said with her voice muffled against his bare chest. “We have things to do today.”

Leah giggled as Nik groaned, releasing her and rolling over on his other side. She learned quickly in the past year that he was not a morning person due to the frequency they have to take down the things that happen to go bump in the night. So she, who happened to be a morning person and seemingly full of boundless energy, became the default alarm clock (and a damn good one if she said so herself).

“Come on, sleepy head! Time to get up!” she declared, sitting up and letting the cool morning air hit her own exposed chest. Nik rolled back over and let his eyes trail appreciatively over her form.

“Well damn, you’ve convinced me.” Leah blushed at his comment and his eyes glued to her body. Besides the night she came back, only a few months prior she wouldn’t take her shirt off in front of him, self conscious about her scars being examined so thoroughly by someone she actually cared about. She briefly recalled the night she let him see them intimately, and the memory of him being so patient and tender with her made her melt. Leah playfully nudged him.

“Now is not the time for that; we have quite a day ahead.”

“I know, I know. But can’t a guy appreciate his woman on a fine sunny morning?” Nik grinned innocently and propped himself on one elbow, completely scarred abdomen in full view. Leah ran a hand through his soft but sticking-out-in-all-directions morning hair, smoothing it back into place somewhat.

“You can appreciate me as we get ready to leave.” With that, Leah jumped out of their bed and began looking through the closet. Nik got up after her and wrapped his arms around her, and Leah sighed, pretending to be exasperated.

“You’re gonna have to stop touching me, babe.”

Nik glided his rough, callused hands on her skin, and he nipped at her neck not-so-gently. “Not what you said last night, babe.”

Leah felt a shiver run up her spine as she turned around so they were face to face. She rested her arms on his shoulders and gazed up at him, a challenge in her eyes. “Oh yeah? I don’t recall any of that.”

“Need me to remind you, huh?” He pulled her even closer by the waist and brought his lips down to hers passionately, and she enthusiastically reciprocated. They kissed freely because there was nothing stopping them; that little apartment was their place. No monsters, no ghosts, nothing trying to kill them. And she relished these moments of peace.

“Mmm, I might remember something…” Leah pulled away slowly. She turned around with one of her hands grasping his behind her, leading him to the bathroom. “But we’re on a schedule. Come remind me in the shower?”

When she turned around to look at him, his face was split into a bright smile as he hurried after her.

==============================================

Half an hour later, the two Nighthunters sat at the small kitchen table, both dressed and ready for the day. In the past year since Leah moved in with Nik, the apartment had changed significantly. Besides the fact that Nik was more motivated to do upkeep on the place, Leah put her own touches. What once were stacks of potentially cursed books and tomes scattered on the floor were now neatly placed in a modern glass bookshelf and organized alphabetically. All of the weapons were cleaned and polished and displayed neatly. She even found pictures of Nik and Elijah from when he was younger and framed them, and the misty eyes she got from him when he saw what she did was all the thanks she needed. He would freely admit that she made everything in his life better, and she could finally say that she was home. That place was now their home, warm and welcoming.

Leah hummed contentedly as she stirred the cinnamon in her coffee like she usually did, and Nik perused the newspaper casually.

“I still don’t see the appeal of cinnamon in coffee,” the man next to her said, looking at her cup. “It doesn’t even dissolve all the way.”

“That itself adds to the flavor,” she replied, taking a sip. “I don’t know why you like yours black; do you have to be so dark all the time?”

Nik rolled his eyes, sipping on his own cup of black coffee. “What can I say, darkness is my one defining personality trait.”

“That, and running away from unicorns, ya giant softie.”

“They’re vicious!”

“Vicious and adorable!”

Leah laughed, and Nik couldn’t help but chuckle with her. “Vicious and adorable, huh? Now those are your defining personality traits.”

“Aww you think I’m cute, Ryder?” Leah cooed, smiling coquettishly at him.

“Why you think I keep you around, Mendoza?” Nik replied, using her last name instead of the usual nicknames (rook, babe, sugar, darlin’, etc.). It was rare that he’d use her first name, and Leah was used to responding to a variety of pet names.

“Wow and here I thought you liked me for my mind,” Leah teased. “Or my magic glowy hands.”

At the mention of her powers, the atmosphere suddenly became more serious; they both remembered why it was a special day, besides it being the anniversary of her return to New Orleans. Nik reached over and intertwined their fingers before speaking. “Are you sure you’re ready?”

Leah squeezed his hand and nodded. “Yes. It’s been a year now and I’ve made a lot of progress and stayed away for too long; it’s time.”

“Say the word and we’ll go.”

==============================================

After putting on their signature jackets (and sneaking a few kisses here and there), the pair got into Nik’s car and drove off. They held hands the entire drive and the entire walk through the woods and the open field, and Leah took several deep breaths to calm her nerves. She felt like a specimen on a Petri dish again under the scrutiny of the cathedral guarding Lamrian.

“Hey…” Nik began, bringing their intertwined fingers up to his lips to kiss her hand. “Just remember, I’m here for you. You don’t have to do this alone.”

Leah smiled radiantly. “I know. Thank you.”

A Fae guard approached them from the shadows, and he was as dutiful and tight lipped as Leah remembered from the year before. She waved nervously at him.

“Uh, hey, I know it’s been a while but I’m—”

“I remember.” He bowed deeply and stepped aside, gesturing for them to walk into the cathedral. “Welcome home, daughter of Lamrian.”

Leah and Nik walked into the cathedral, which promptly turned into a familiar grand throne room. Leah could see Lady Thalissa writing on an ornate ledger. She turned back to Nik, who gave her an encouraging nod.

“Go on, then. I’ll be here.”

Leah steadied her breathing and stepped forward towards her stepmother. At the sound of her footsteps, Thalissa looked up from her work.

“Leah…” she whispered, surprise on her Fae features. She immediately cast aside her quill and dashed over, wrapping Leah in a warm hug. Leah breathed in her sweet-pea perfume, instantly feeling comfort.

“I’m sorry I was away for so long. After everything...I needed some time,” Leah apologized, looking her stepmother in the eyes.

Thalissa squeezed her hand. “Do not apologize, my darling. I understand the need for solitude in the midst of grief. Losing my greatest love, losing my son...I could hardly speak to another soul for months.”

Leah looked down in shame. “I hope you and the citizens of Lamrian got my apology. I never meant to disrupt your lives so much.”

Thalissa tilted her chin up, and she smiled softly with tears shining in her eyes. “There are no apologies necessary. Even though we are not bound by blood, I consider you my daughter. Oh how I’ve missed you; the sun is now shining on my heart.”

Leah smiled back, her eyes also filling with tears. “I missed Lamrian and everything in it. I...I was actually able to access my magick a year ago and can do a few things.”

“My dear Elric wanted to teach you Fae magick,” Thalissa began, her expression betraying the scantest hint of surprise at hearing that she could use magick in a significant way. “I would keep that promise for him, should you wish it.”

Leah smiled impishly. “Will you teach me how to make grimfire?”

Thalissa let out a surprised laugh, pinching her cheek affectionately. “Let’s begin with the basics.”

She turned and drew a glowing portal into the starry fields of the Fae Realm. She stepped into the portal and gestured for Leah to join her. Leah looked back at Nik, hesitating for a moment on the border between her two worlds. He gave her a small wave.

“Don’t be gone too long, all right? You and I have a date with a rampaging ghoul later.”

Leah visibly relaxed, knowing that her home in the mortal world wouldn’t leave once she stepped into the Fae world. “Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

Taking a deep breath, she walked through the shining portal, joining Thalissa. The portal closed behind them as she inhaled the smells around her.

“Maybe Cal was onto something...it does smell different than the human world,” Leah mused, taking in everything around her as they walked.

“I take it your friends have been helping you adjust to your new life?”

Leah grinned. “Definitely. You remember Cal, Katherine, and Vera? And that man with me was Nik, my partner.”

Thalissa smiled genuinely. “Of course! Such a nice group, and that man is clearly enamored with you.”

“I don’t know how I got so lucky,” she replied, shaking her head in disbelief. “After Elric died, I just...I ran away. I couldn’t take it and I was destroying myself. It took a friend flying all the way to Wyoming and my father to appear to me for me to come to my senses.”

“Ah, yes. My darling also came to visit me shortly after he passed,” Thalissa said, a dreamy look on her face. Leah took a good look at her and noticed even more fine lines on her face in the starry lighting of the open field. “I could hardly function, but remembering that he was always watching me helped. And your message gave me hope that you would one day truly return.”

“And I’m here,” Leah corroborated. “It took a lot of group therapy and grief counseling with my friend Katherine, who’d also lost someone. Things weren’t suddenly all better just because I moved, but they’re getting there. I got a new life by giving my old one away, and I don’t regret that for one moment.”

Thalissa squeezed her hand. “Wise words from such a young one. You’re right; it will take time to heal this hurt, both personally and for our people. But I’m happy I can have my daughter with me now. Oh, and I almost forgot: Cassie will be so happy to see you too.”

“She’s been with you this entire time?” Thalissa nodded and Leah smiled radiantly, remembering her perrikin.

Leah’s heart had never felt so full that day as they continued to talk and Thalissa taught her the basics under the magickal sky. As she said her goodbyes later with promises to return for more lessons and to engage the people of Lamrian at a later date, and as she and Nik (and Katherine) hunted that night, Leah took it all in with a huge smile on her face. To think that she was once stuck in a dead end job in Wyoming and no knowledge of who she truly was. It had been a life-changing year, but she wouldn’t trade it for anything.

==============================================

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In an unnamed part of the bayou, two female figures cloaked in black hoods stood side by side. Fireflies buzzed around, the only source of light in the night. The one with many faces and even more memories of time spoke first.

“The thrice-cursed son finally figured out it was I who hired him. He was not pleased when he confronted me today. Shame it took him so long; mortals are unfortunately so slow.”

The woman next to her, who did not have quite as many faces, scoffed in response. “You think that’s bad? She still thinks it was a coincidence that her dimwit friend and dead father showed up on the same night!”

The Fate turned to her, her face suddenly wrinkled and full of anger. “What did I tell you about using your magick for things like this?”

The woman rolled her chocolate brown eyes. “Cassiopeia did a real number on her by sending that monster. Things were going to get worse if I didn’t step in!”

“You forget, Jacqueline, that I am the only one who can foresee. This is my final warning not to meddle in which you do not know!”

With that, the Fate evaporated away, leaving her alone with her thoughts. The witch silently walked away eventually, and in the process walked by a giant dead alligator. She shook her head at the site and disappeared into the shadows.

==============================================

A/N: Anddd that’s it, folks! At least for this story. Surprise, I managed to finish it within 2019! I’ll see you all when I’m well under way my next Nightbound series. Thanks again for reading and I hope you have an amazing start to the new year 💗💗💗 

My tag list will be in a comment because I had to bring my laptop in for repair, and my iPad makes it too difficult to do the tags in the post itself.

[clansayeed]

Bound by Circumstance ― Chapter 15: The House on Prytania Street

PAIRING: Nik Ryder x trans*M!MC (Taylor Hunter) RATING: Mature

⥼ MASTERLIST ⥽

⥼ Bound by Circumstance ⥽

Taylor Hunter (MC) has made it good for himself in New Orleans; turns out moving to a new city fresh out of college to reinvent yourself isn’t as hard as people make it out to be. Things only start to get confusing when he finds himself the target of a malevolent wraith. Good thing someone’s looking out for him though — because without Nighthunter Nik Ryder as his bodyguard he definitely won’t survive long in the twisting darkness of the supernatural underworld he’s tripped into.

Bound by Circumstance and the rest of the Oblivion Bound series is an ongoing dramatic retelling project of the book Nightbound and the rest of the Bloodbound series. Find out more [HERE].

Note: Circumstance only loosely follows the events and plotline of Nightbound, and features a separate antagonist, different character motivations, and further worldbuilding.

*Let me know if you would like to be added to the Circumstance/series tag list!

⥼ Chapter Summary ⥽

The gang heads to Prytania Street to meet with the last power left untouched in New Orleans; the Garden District Coven. Taylor starts to experience the side effects of being a fae halfling.

[READ IT ON AO3]

The sun’s heat is blistering on the back of his neck.

It feels unnatural in a way; conducting their business with the darker side of the world in the daylight. They’ve been running between the worlds that exist between sunset and sunrise for so long that he almost forgot what the sun even looks like.

He likes looking at the moon. But looking at the sun? Ouch.

Still it feels strange not to have Cadence’s towering presence hovering somewhere at his back. Looking over at Katherine — he can’t imagine what it must feel like to her.

“Hey — nope, eyes here.”

Taylor winces at the backhand to his arm but Ryder definitely isn’t in the mood. He’s been tense ever since they left the hospital with a time and place to address the Garden Coven. Like he didn’t know that was the plan, or something.

“I’m listening,” promises Taylor. But listening for Nik at that very moment requires eyes as well as ears.

“Really? Then what’d I just say?”

He blames his hesitation on the fact its taking forever for the coffee to hit his nervous system. Looks to Cal beside him for some kind of help but the werewolf gives him a look of you’re on your own.

“Uh —”

“Right, thought so.”

“I get the gist, Nik. Don’t be rude, don’t make eye contact, probably best just not to open my mouth.”

Cal snorts. “Actually that’s scarily close to verbatim.”

“Did I ask you?” snarks Ryder, but the bait remains abandoned in the cracks on the sidewalk.

The Upper Garden District is like most wealthy neighborhoods; nice to look at for a time but not much for entertainment value without a place to actually go. And sure Taylor has entertained the thought of owning one of the many million-dollar mansions lined with black iron gates and enough bedrooms to sleep in a different one every night for a week or more.

But its like the streets know. They know what Taylor and the rest have seen — what some of them have done. They know what creature hunts them and close their entrances off with hanging willow branches and high brick walls.

Claiming innocence, refusing to be witnesses like covering their eyes in cupped palms absolves them of the duty placed upon survivors to recount tragedy when it is over.

Because they might be the only ones left to do so.

Taylor drags his fingertips along the winding bars of an iron gate. Wonders if the prickling he feels under his touch is static, his imagination, or something more.

Nothing about 937 Prytania Street sets it apart from the houses on either side of it, or across the street for that matter. If Katherine hadn’t stopped in front of it he might not have even guessed it was their final destination.

Wasn’t a witches’ home supposed to be covered in sigils or guarded by spirits from another world? At least adhere to the aesthetic, people.

Thank god, though, he’s not the only one underwhelmed by the obviously-new shiny coat of eggshell-white or the lack of shutters creaking in the mid- morning breeze.

“You sure this is the place, Kathy?” asks Cal with his head slightly raised, nostrils flared to try and pick up whatever scent witches carry. “It smells pretty ordinary.”

She doesn’t answer. Just presses the buzzer and waits patiently for the gate to open.

It does and without so much as an ominous creak.

Maybe its his paranoia kicking in but with every step they take towards the house the feeling of unease in Taylor’s stomach grows, and grows, until it sloshes around — doesn’t sit well with his coffee. Everything his eyes take in seems too normal. A lawn too well-manicured, a set of metal golden numbers too polished. Makes him want to grab a fistful of soil from a too vibrant pot of Easter lilies and throw it somewhere, anywhere to make the place a little less picturesque.

Lamrian was beautiful in its perfection.

The House on Prytania Street is perfect the way a staged corpse is perfect.

A stiff gentleman in a three-piece suit opens the door before Katherine can use the knocker. Looks the four of them over with a condescending air about him and there’s a half-second where it looks like he’s ready to close the door in their faces on principle.

He doesn’t, instead steps aside.

The problem with most of the houses in the area is that, beauty aside, most of them stand empty. Not on the material front — they are always filled with collections of things and with more places to sit than is realistically necessary. But whether its the shitty housing market or the fact that they’re just owned like another piece of a collection, rarely are they lived-in.

The Garden Coven house is no different.

While the Suit leads them to a parlor off the right of the house Taylor tries his best to try and find some evidence of life being lived; on the walls, the carpet, even in smudges in the dust that lines various and seemingly unrelated objects on display.

There are none. Not one single fingerprint.

Though the Suit gestures to a matching array of chaise lounges and high-backed chairs for them to wait in, they stay standing because Katherine stays standing.

“You will be collected shortly,” is all the Suit says before returning the way they had come; though this time he pulls the double doors closed behind him. Leaves them all feeling trapped despite the open windows and sunlight pouring through.

“Random question here,” Taylor breaks the silence because it might actually drive him up the wall, “but do we have a plan for if this goes badly?”

He looks to Ryder, who looks at Katherine, who has suddenly taken up an interest in the antique carpet underfoot.

Of course they don’t have a plan. Why would they have a plan for their last resort? The same wonder team that practically broke into Persephone without so much as an escape route on the brain.

Historically things have worked out in their favor, though. Is it wrong of him to hope this time, too, might not be so terrible?

The glowing yellow eyes that bore into his soul from across the room say yes, yes it is wrong of him. Say how dare he imagine that things might not turn out so bad. They blame him for bringing hellfire and brimstone down on this house, on this city.

“— ly shit, Taylor. You okay?”

Its like an out-of-body experience in reverse. Feeling too deep and too trapped within himself to answer the concern on Ryder’s face. Like he’s drowning inside his own mind — or inside someone else’s.

Nothing about her is stable — pinpointing what she looks like beyond the startling gaze with which she holds him captive is about as easy as finding a single raindrop in a stormy sea.

One moment there are wrinkles around her eyes. Lines at her mouth pursed with thin lips in a frown of disappointment. Then youthful candor in aching regret. Grey hair healthy and full then withered, curling like the rumors that hair and nails continue to grow long after you’re buried in the ground.

He doesn’t realize it until the tear burn at his eyes and make him choke, but he’s crying.

“Taylor — Taylor!”

It’s back-breaking to pull away from the vortex he’s been ensnared in. Both the sun and moon in each of her eyes. Glassy and knowing at the same time.

But he blinks. Feels those same tears run down his cheeks and tickle his chin. Looks at the concerned faces of his friends with utter confusion because how in the world could they be staring at him when he’s facing judgment at the metaphorical pearly gates, here?

Even he’s aware of how foolish he sounds when all he can let out is a dumb “What?”

Nik takes him by the shoulders; looks him up and down for any signs of physical harm like it all isn’t in his head. Remains the most tried and true validation of his experiences to this day.

“You — what the hell happened to you?”

Taylor looks to Cal’s frown of concern, to Katherine’s violet curls like whips lashing around her face as she tries to pinpoint what, where.

“You look like you jus’ saw a damn ghost,” Cal sees the confusion in his eyes and thinks he’s helping. He isn’t.

So he cranes his neck back, away from Nik, to the point where it feels like he might snap his own spine.

She’s still there — in the doorway to a shadowy corridor. Both young and old and there and not. Then she isn’t her at all and the elderly man standing in her place reminds him of his grandfather a bit — which does nothing but unsettle him further.

“You… you don’t see her — hi— it?”

No, of course they don’t. Why would they?

He’s used to this — defaults into the old habit of trying to pretend the thing he’s looking at doesn’t exist. Already with denial on the tip of his tongue burning like a sour candy left forgotten.

But this was supposed to have stopped. No more headaches, no more hallucinations. The things he’s seen and accepted… so why is this different? Why now of all the rotten times is he seeing something no one else can?

Sure Nik tries; Cal too. They look in the doorway where the figure hovers like a bad trip on acid. They try, but they don’t see.

“Rook,” — is this where he pulls a Hermione, tells Taylor that seeing things no one else can see isn’t normal even in their freaky lives? — “there’s no one there.”

Only he doesn’t sound his usual level of confidence. Sounds more like he’s trying to convince himself right alongside.

Katherine scoffs under her breath; shakes her head and sits because there’s nothing else to do with her arms folded so tightly across her chest its undeniably a measure of self-comfort. Of keeping herself grounded.

When Cal tries to sniff the air his nose crinkles. “There’s too many different scents. Ritual burnings, smudges — I can’t get a read on shit.”

“I swear,” mutters Nik so low Taylor wouldn’t hear it if he weren’t as close as he is, “if these bastards are messin’ with you —”

For a guy who spent the entire journey warning against this exact type of frustration, anger, Taylor’s pretty sure it doesn’t matter if the Coven — wherever they may be — can’t hear him.

“Stop, it’s fine.”

“It ain’t —”

“You’re gonna get yourself in trouble.”

“Like I give a damn?!”

“Lower your voice!”

“A-hem.”

At some point the Suit had returned without their notice. Taylor would like to hope it was after his little freak-out but, time to face facts; he’s just not that lucky.

The way he looks them over — he might very well have some sort of magic-witchy x-ray vision. How the fuck someone can have a gaze that feels something like being scored at the top of his head and having his very being pulled back layer by layer is a mystery and, unlike the others, its one Taylor has no desire to solve.

“The Garden Elders will see you now.”

He wants to ask for a second to catch his breath; regain his composure. But why ask for it when he already knows the answer he’ll get?

Like before Suit doesn’t wait for them to speak an agreement. Just turns and begins walking deeper into the old house with purpose. Cal follows close behind — for all his bravado there’s unmistakable gooseflesh riddling his forearms.

Taylor reaches out to Katherine without a second thought; offering like he can help her up when they both know she could very well launch him over the chair and out the window like a rag doll.

Just another thing to distract him from the unrelenting stare digging knives into his back, probably.

Only Katherine takes his hand; surprises them both by doing so.

“You still see them, don’t you?”

The way Kathy’s eyes roam the space behind him, Taylor can tell she’s searching for the smallest speck of something to assuage his worries. But if you see something you don’t look for it.

So Taylor just nods. Follows with her at Nik’s back where he acts like a wall to keep their whispers private.

“Its not the Coven.” She says it so matter-of-factly.

The figure, now a young girl in the same pale grey shroud as the other faces had been, keeps staring even as they leave the parlor behind.

“Then what is it?” Nik throws back through gritted teeth.

“Something much more powerful.”

Taylor squeaks. “Not helping.”

“I recognize that look — I’ve seen it in the mirror,” and when they approach another set of double doors, stalled behind the Suit and his glower, her breath is hot in his ear.

“Keep an eye out. If The Fate is watching then there’s far more at stake than we assumed.”

His first thought is there have to be more witches in New Orleans than this, closely followed by please stop inviting trouble into your life, Taylor.

But even Katherine looks confused at the emptiness of the solarium they’re led into. How unassuming the three occupants look taking their tea with a pristine porcelain pot at a table out of Home and Garden magazine.

The same kinds of lilies, white petals large and curling under the sunlight, occupy every planter and pot in sight. Some of them are accompanied by flowers he’s only ever seen in books or movies — others look like they might be more at home in Lamrian taking root than here; to be appreciated but ultimately with a finite lifespan.

The solarium is a half-circle of heat and glass. Even the door leading out to a back garden path is see-through; the handle made of crystal. Everything catches on the sun and it makes Taylor quite literally hot under the collar.

He wipes a bit of sweat away from his chin uncomfortably.

They aren’t greeted when they enter. There are no chairs for them to take up. The Suit departs with the same wordless condescension with which he arrived and they’re just left there, taking up space on pristine marble, watching the so-called Garden Elders take their tea.

Only one of them actually looks the title ‘elder.’ The cotton on his robes looks scratchy, makes Taylor want to itch along his arms even at a distance. The locs that obscure his withered face fall back when he lifts his head up to the sun — casting shadows in the lines and creases of age he wears not just well but with a sort of pride.

With a delicate two-fingered touch he pushes his cup and saucer to the woman to his left. She refills his cup without looking away from the newspaper folded in front of her setting. The air around her seems to hold back as if afraid to touch — reverent of her existence but willing only to observe. The way the light illuminates her dark skin is practically golden. Makes her shine with some ethereal grace more at home with fae-kind than mortal witches, but the glow is undoubtedly hers.

The third Elder takes Taylor by surprise — he’s seen her before. Can still smell the sour cling of sweat to copper talismans and commercial incense on the ever-crowded floor of the House of Voodoo shop on Bourbon Street. Takes hiding in plain sight to a whole new level.

Would the Taylor from before all of this have felt the power that radiates around them? Would he have understood there was something to be feared about this particular trio; something he couldn’t possibly understand yet could feel in a place deeper than in the marrow of his bones?

I guess we’ll never know.

The polite thing to do would be to wait for them to finish their morning repast.

They don’t have time for politeness.

“Thank you for agreeing to meet with us on such short notice, Elders.” Katherine gives a respectful nod of her head when she steps forward. Based on the look she throws at Ryder that’s what they should all be doing — but he doesn’t. And Taylor just doesn’t want to look like an idiot.

Something rattles hollow around the old man’s neck and when he turns Taylor really hopes those aren’t real bones strung together with twine. His eyes are a milky, clouded white but he looks at Katherine with no trouble.

“Despite what rumor may have you believe we care a great deal of our ties to the community.”

Kathy opens her mouth to speak but because Nik is Nik he scoffs “yeah, sure,” loud enough to drag the focus of all three Elders onto him.

“If you’ve something to say, boy, say it,” says the House of Voodoo employee, and Taylor will never hear a customer service voice the same way again with the shiver it sends running down his spine.

“Elder Millet —”

It isn’t politeness that cuts Kathy off when Millet raises her hand. Not with the purpling of her face or the way she seems to gasp around unspoken words.

“Excuses are as bad as lies, Miss Lopez,” she gives a flippant wave to her peers that breaks her unspoken spell; leaves Katherine on the verge of clawing at her throat for fragrant lily-scented air, “if Mister Ryder here has something to say who are we to force him into silence?” Ironic, much?

Now he’s done it — Nik can tell, too. If they want to continue he’s going to have to finish his thought and accept the consequences that come with it.

But he is Nik; so he squares his shoulders and stands his ground despite the unease that Taylor feels emanating from him.

“I mean no blatant disrespect Elder Millet,” —to the old man— “Elder Vion,” —and to the woman still yet to look up from the paper— “Elder Daniels; but if any of you three gave a damn about the community we wouldn’t’a needed to come get you in the first place. You’d have shown your faces at the Beau-Keyes with the rest of ‘em.”

“And look what happened to them,” drawls Elder Daniels as she flips the paper  to the financial section, “almost killed due to reckless stupidity and an inability to see beyond the moment.”

The private laugh the three of them share isn’t lost on anyone. In fact it makes Cal bristle and go red in the face.

“You—You knew we’d be attacked? You knew and you did nothing?!”

Pack blood still runs deep.

Elder Vion adds a pink sugar cube to his tea. “‘Doing nothing’ was the ideal course of action.”

And his fellow Elders agree; “It followed the plan precisely.”

“And leaves us with an opening.”

“Though the guests will have to be taken care of first.”

“They won’t be here for long.”

“Hey—Hey! Now ain’t the time to dissolve into crazy!”

Nik’s clapping isn’t just loud — it makes the room tremble. Glass walls, the glass panels on the ceiling all somehow stunned by the weight of his audacity. That he would dare call attention to himself, this small, insignificant creature—

Taylor hastily shoves his palms into the front pockets of his jeans. Like that will somehow stop the feeling prickling at his palms like a thousand tiny needles. Different than anxiety; something borderline painful. Like if he thinks about it too much it will start to hurt, but pushing it out of the forefront of his mind will keep it at bay.

He recognizes the feeling easily enough — still doesn’t know what it means or what’s causing it but there’s one answer he didn’t have before. It has something to do with being a fae.

“So you all know what’s out… there.” Taylor jerks his chin to the garden, to the French Quarter beyond and the rest of New Orleans with it.

Given everything they’ve seen when it comes to the bloodwraith so far it’s almost laughable to think such a gruesome creature could exist—let alone appear—on a day like this.

Elder Millet looks Taylor over like she’s peeling back each and every layer of him with her eyes. Maybe she is — he wouldn’t put it past magic itself. Let alone past the magic that told the Coven Elders how terrible the attack at the Beau-Keyes would be and convinced them to do fuck-all about it.

“We do.”

But they knew that. “And you know what it’s after.”

“We’ve drawn our own conclusions.”

“Do those conclusions tell you how close you’re getting to the top of the list?” It sounds an awful lot like a threat. Good — he wants it to be.

“Do they tell you its only a matter of time until it comes after you — after the entire Coven?”

Nik agrees; “Whose to say it’ll stop with the Elders? Someone takes your place eventually — it can go after them, and the ones that follow, and the ones after that —”

Vion scoffs around his tea. “Preposterous!”

“Actually no; not in the slightest.” Wariness, distrust hangs over Katherine in an aura of thunderclouds. And its growing. “It’s logical.”

The word, the very implication of it makes Millet’s fingers twitch towards something partially obscured by the teapot. At first Taylor wrote them off as napkins but now the shape and size rings familiar.

Her deck of tarot cards doesn’t like being questioned.

“Logic is the predilection of the mundane.” When Elder Daniels finally looks up from her paper its to stare directly at Katherine. Hard and unyielding. Its a look of power; a silent demand for surrender.

And she almost does. Taylor knows without a doubt that she’d deny it with her last breath but words mean nothing when he can see the flash of her soul behind stormy skies — hear the rolling thunder not far behind.

“There are a thousand and one ways to interpret any given reading. And you chose the one that would keep you out of the crossfire.

“Even if it meant turning your backs on the Accords.”

Outside the walls of the sunroom nothing has changed. The clouds have continued to drift lazily by and the sun still beats down upon them. But when they entered the room felt as transparent as it looked.

Now they may as well be trapped in a dense fog. It threatens to block out the sun; to take pleasure in wringing out their last choking breaths.

“You overstep, insolent little Nighthunter.”

Elder Daniels stands and waves her hand. Probably takes a sick sense of satisfaction in the smallest flinch Katherine fails to hold back — but instead the witches’ spread vanishes as though it was never there.

There is no gaping absence of it — they could just as easily have been standing the entire time and had Taylor’s eyes not seen the table and chairs, had he not smelled the brewing tea or heard the clinking of cup against saucer, he would have a hard time explaining why he thought any of it was there in the first place.

Millet’s fingertips hover just above the surface of her tarot deck. The only physical thing to have remained. As much a member of the Elders as anything.

And the wrinkles on Vion’s leathery face have sunken deep like canyons. His movements are ancient and slow as he stands beside his fellow Elders in defiance of some unknown.

The sides are becoming glaringly obvious.

Small as it was Daniels’ display of power served its purpose; reminded them of who—what—they were dealing with. A power strong enough to entice the bloodwraith and prove its worth by remaining untouched.

The continued existence of them was a claim to power that the likes of Carlo de la Rosa and Denna the Shifter could never have dreamed of.

Taylor knows he’s not the only one of them having this fact hammered home inside him. Not solely because it takes some big and important shit to keep Ryder silent for this long but definitely highlighted by it.

“Perhaps,” Millet drags the word out solely to fuck with them, “we are the ones to be blamed. Blamed for our naivete in agreeing to this meeting disguised as an attempt to point fingers.”

And because its Katherine on the line — more than her name or reputation, but her life — she remains the sensible one. She tries to smooth-talk her way out. “With respect, Elder Millet, no one’s pointing fingers—”

“Save your arguments,” barks Vion, “though I’m sure they were well-rehearsed. Even blind to this physical plane as I am, I can see your true intentions for coming here.”

“Well there weren’t any, so —”

“We open our doors to you in this hour of need and yet you seek to accuse us of that which you cannot even begin to understand. Do you deny?”

It’s beginning to feel an awful lot like a trial and Taylor isn’t the only one who can feel it. He knows what the tension in Cal means — the way Nik shifts to the foot he favors standing his ground on.

But something just isn’t right. It’s echoing hollow in his bones; in the air around them. It fills him up, keeps filling him until he’s not sure he can stand it anymore. Until it wants to pour from his mouth or leak from his ears.

“Then why even agree to meet with us at all?” he blurts out to the surprise of the room; to himself.

And all that pressuring weight shifts from Katherine to him. Now he’s deep in it. Way to effing go.

Only its the first time the Elders don’t have a remark ready to be snapped at their heels. A fact that isn’t lost on them — and isn’t lost on his friends either.

And since its the only silence they might be getting any time soon he tries to roll with it in his usual word-vomit way.

“If you can see so much of the future in your cards or whatever — why agree to meet with us at all? Wouldn’t you know what we think of you? What everyone thinks of you? And you guys don’t seem like the type to entertain stupid people for the sake of a laugh.”

Nik gives him a very specific ‘Did you just call us stupid?’ look. Yeah, yeah he did.

But its rambling, and Taylor is good at rambling. Rambling is what he does best — rambling and improv monologues.

“You guys —” he drags an accusatory finger across the spread of them, “— are the ones accusing anyone, here. Which I get, you know, because there’s a lot going on. And everyone’s scared and everyone’s got their walls up because this is—like—ten thousand leagues away from normal even for your crazy world.

“But if we keep pointing fingers and we keep not helping everyone then what’s gonna happen? Right — the bloodwraith is gonna win. Because we’re gonna do its job for it!”

He drops his finger, then, because he’s making a point and leading by example. “Whatever reasons you may think we have for coming here are bullshit. No one wants to help, everyone’s just in it for themselves! And seeing as literally everyone in the city is a target right now that’s a really really stupid way of thinking!”

Like — he’s making sense, isn’t he? He feels almost compelled to look around not just at the Elders but at his friends, too. How many stories about good versus evil demand that everyone band together in spite of their differences for their own survival; for everyone’s survival?

They had been so close at the Beau-Keyes. If they’d all been given more time who knows what they could have accomplished. Maybe Kristof would be more willing to help. Maybe Lady Smoke wouldn’t have gotten hurt.

Maybe Elric would stop hiding behind his wards like a coward.

Taylor sighs and it comes out a ragged thing — takes every last bit of air in his lungs and tries to wring a choked noise from his lips but he’s just too tired.

“If you had already made up your minds about us — about helping everyone — then why bother letting us come here to ask?”

Over Elder Daniels’ shoulder, across the room and through the spotless glass wall he sees the same figure as before. Knows its them by the glint of their golden eyes. The young woman’s face is forlorn; almost weeping. Flickers like a heat mirage from young to old to young again.

The Fate, Katherine had called them.

Why here?

Why now?

Why won’t they do something?

“Such a rousing call to action…” says Millet with the vestiges of praise — yet it looks bitter on her tongue.

Daniels agrees; “And from the unseen complication, no less.”

“Perhaps we underestimated him.”

“What difference would it make? Everything has gone as predicted so far.”

“One wrong move can turn the tide.”

“Yes — but this…”

Again they fall into whispered confidences — as though the others aren’t even there.

Ryder almost growls. More unwilling to call them out on it than before but just as impatient. “This was useless…” he hisses through gritted teeth back in Kathy’s direction.

A small movement draws Taylor’s attention to Elder Vion. To the empty space beside him.

Where The Fate — as a child, making it all the more eerie — reaches up and takes the witch’s hand in theirs. Blood soaks through their grey sleeve; drips down onto the pristine white floor. One droplet becomes two, becomes three and more. A puddle forming at their feet and spreading out of its own will.

He knows it isn’t real — that none of it is really there. There is no child and no blood not only because no one else is freaking out about it but because of the way the blood moves. Spiraling tendrils seeking to consume but only at the Elders’ feet.

The meaning of the whole disturbing sight is clear.

There is blood on the Elders’ hands. They’re drowning in it.

“You didn’t answer his question.”

Katherine cuts Daniels and Millet off mid-word. All that cool calculation hidden behind her pretty face; the perfect mask to hide behind. “Why’d you agree to this? What do you gain?”

Daniels’ upper lip curls. “There is nothing you could offer worth our time.”

“Still doesn’t answer the question.”

“Do you forget you called upon us?”

“Yeah,” she scoffs, “when I thought you’d be useful. But we’re just talking in circles here!”

They are. What more do they know now compared to before?

Nothing is making any freakin’ sense. Nothing except for the sickening feeling growing inside. The blood spreads — devours. Leaves the witches draped in a dark veil thicker than a fog at night and the solarium, once filled with the light breeze of lilies, reeking of rot and the sour tang of open wounds.

A scent he’s becoming all too familiar with — something Taylor never thought would ever cross his mind.

Again there’s a prickling at his palms but this time he reaches for Ryder — a port in the gathering storm. Clasps their hands together tightly; desperately.

Nik who does a double-take when he catches the hollow light of fear in his eyes.

We need to leave.

What do you know?

Too much.

Too much. He knows too much. The Fate knows it and that’s why their figure has vanished but the blood seeping into the hems of the Elders’ clothes remains. The world knows it too, somehow. Keeps that damp and musty smell of molding decay stuck in his lungs and makes him choke on it. Makes his eyes water and an itching pain climb up from the inside of him begging to be let free.

He knows too much. Can’t even begin to understand the how or the why and maybe even a little bit of the what but he does.

He knows without a shadow of a doubt that the darkness that gathers around the Coven Elders and the one hanging as a fatal noose around the bloodwraith are one in the same.

We need to leave.

“It doesn’t matter Kathy,” Nik interrupts — keeps his eyes on Taylor like a grounding point; the only solid ground to stand on, “whether they answer or not it’s clear as day they don’t plan on helping anyone but themselves.

“We oughta get goin’.”

To their credit the Elders don’t deny it.

But the sudden change is a bit too much for Katherine. “Are you—Nik what the hell?”

“Kathy —” Taylor’s wavering voice almost breaks at just her name. Its enough; enough to drag her away from frustrating thoughts building to the fact that he’s white as a sheet and on the verge of unconsciousness. “Please.”

She doesn’t get the chance to argue. Not when the room turns to shadows upon shadows; very real and very not-in-his-head clouds blooming across the sun over their heads.

Even when Elder Vion lowers his hand the spell continues; grows and takes hold of the sky above until the sun is nothing but a distant memory, until the shadows are only a darkness unending.

He tuts and clicks his tongue — such a normal act in contrast to the way he leans on the gnarled handle of his cane. “Finally the consequences reveal themselves.” He bites out, though his scorn is quickly directed to the Elders at his side. “Had you not wished to speed the process this wouldn’t be an issue.”

“Had we?” Millet snaps; gestures with her hands so wide that one of the cards slips from her deck and flutters to the ground face-up.

The Wheel of Fortune stares lifelessly upwards.

“You insisted the Council could not be allowed to congregate, Vion.”

“Indeed we acted on faith of your vision,” agrees Daniels.

Vion, though, is adamant; “The consequences outweighed the risk.”

“And what of that,” Daniels thrusts a finger at Taylor, “little consequence? Was it worth the knowledge he now possesses?”

The energy directed his way makes Taylor double over — from pain or pressure he doesn’t know. But Nik isn’t having it.

“What the hell are you crazy people talkin’ about?!”

“Silence!”

There’s a loud and resistant groan over their heads. They look up just in time to see the metal framework stop — now twisted, coiled like a spring ready to snap and send the ceiling panels hurtling down in what would surely be a painful death for all but the Elders.

“You dare interrupt your betters; dare demand of those who hold absolute power over your mortal lives?!” She’s practically shrieking now; and with each crack of her voice comes a crack in the glass surrounding them. “That you continue to live is a testament to our generosity despite your wretched meddling!

“But a Nighthunter never learns. Not until he is forced into submission!”

The bones around Elder Vion’s neck rattle on a nonexistent breeze. “To give this cur the same punishment would be my pleasure.”

“Why bother prolonging it?” adds Millet in a ravenous growl, “Kill him now and we have a second soul to cut from the veil. A second soldier to finish the task at hand.”

Cal goes rigid; taken by surprise. Now he knows. “Holy shit. It’s you.”

And now Katherine knows too; forces down the oncoming waves of revelation — keeps herself afloat with a strength well-hidden.

“You’re the ones controlling the bloodwraith.”

[ladykateofledfordpark]

A Time of Hope (Nik x MC)

This fic is inspired by day 20 of the Choices July Challenge hosted by the amazing @kinda-iconic under the profile @choicesjulychallenge!

Dedicated to @itsbrindleybinch, my beautiful friend! And, of course, @mariaoz (even if you’re a Cal stan ;) ).

Tagging also my amazing friends @jlpplays1 @lady-kato and @desiree-0816!

Day 20 Prompt: Commitment

Pairing: Nik x F!MC (Alex)

Summary: Nik and Alex need to decide what to do now that all the danger is gone.

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As the five of them left the hotel, Alex found herself walking beside Nik. Her heart was so much lighter than before, and a strange sense of content settled over her.

She didn't know how to approach the topic weighing on her heart. The words were nearly at the tip of her tongue, but her courage was buried deep inside. She shifted her gaze to Nik, and the way he looked made it just a little bit easier to reach that topic.

His eyes sparkled with a sense of happiness she never saw before-- as if he was now a new man. He smiled at her with the most beautiful smile Alex ever saw, as if she was now the hope he almost lost.

"Rook."

"What?" 

She couldn't meet his gaze. His beauty overwhelmed her, causing heat to rise in her cheeks. Why was she so easily flustered?

Nik cleared his throat. "Alex, we need to talk about… us," he added hesitantly.

Usually, that sentence was a menacing harbinger. However, Nik said it in a way that was almost shy, his happiness still shining through his words.

Alex glanced sideways. "What about?"

Nik returned his gaze to the other four, who were walking only a bit ahead of them. He narrowed his eyes like the hunter he was, his sharp senses stronger than a predator's. Life was now back to normal, death no longer a threat, but old habits die hard.

Once he was sure of their safety, Nik's shoulders sagged and he let out a sigh of relief. “I still can’t believe all our troubles are just gone.”

His gaze met hers, and suddenly a warmth passed through her. Nik looked at her in a strange mix of affection and uncertainty, as if debating what to do. 

And then his hand brushed hers, and goosebumps prickled her skin.

"I'm sorry. I…" his warm hand touched hers again, but this time it lingered, as if his body was fighting his command. The nearness of him sent pleasant tingles down Alex's spine, a feeling almost as good as magic.

"Nik…"

He took her hand, and her heart immediately stopped. Nik was vulnerable with her plenty of times since they met, but something about this small act was different. Then, it was about him: his past, his feelings, himself. Now, as he held her hand, Nik was saying something else. Not 'I want you', not 'I need you', but rather… 'I want to be with you'.

And something about that made her legs wobble so hard it was almost impossible to stand, let alone walk.

Nik looked down at their hands as if that strange phenomenon was an answer to a question he never even asked. His focus returned to the others, but his shoulders once again stiffened. And Alex doubted it was from any hidden monsters.

He slowed his pace, so he could really look into Alex’s eyes. His dark eyes called her into the depths of danger, of the unknown, of freedom and... of safety. She neared him so her arm brushed his, and Nik didn’t move away. Instead, he asked her a question that bothered him for too long.

"What do you think of doing now, Alex?" Nik’s voice was almost casual, yet it still shook with unrestrained emotion.

Alex knew he wanted her to stay. She wanted it too. It sounded like a dream: waking up every day beside a person she never thought she'll find, a person who changed her life so much in such a short time. Nik was more than just a bodyguard, more than a friend. He was everything good about the world of night: the mystery, the beauty and the danger.

She didn't want to lose him, but she also didn't want to lose Lamrian. It may have been less of a home than it once was, but it was still hers. Lady Thalissa needed her, and leaving her to face this all on her own…

Alex's heart clenched. She couldn't do this to her beloved stepmother. She was the woman who welcomed her with open arms, who cast out her own son because of his attempt on Alex’s life. Alex may not have known her very well, but Thalissa deserved her help. She would not stand aside.

But could she leave Nik, and the rest of this beautiful world behind?

"I'm not sure."

She wasn't lying, but the slight shift in her tone didn’t escape Nik’s notice. He frowned at her, understanding darkening his eyes.

"You do know. You'll stay in Lamrian, right?"

She hated answering him, but she had no choice. Nik deserved this, at least. “I will live with my kingdom, at least for a bit, until they recover. It’s my home now, too.”

Nik was silent. His thoughts rushed through his head like a violent hurricane, tearing everything in its past. The stronger it grew, the more his heart broke. He tightened his hold on Alex’s hand, as if she was now the source of all his strength.

Nik suddenly stopped in his tracks, and Alex followed suit. He gently cupped Alex’s face and she stepped closer, desperate for his touch. His warm thumb rubbed her cheek: affection, heartbreak and grief a violent turmoil inside him.

“What will we do?” he asked at last.

Alex closed her eyes as she held Nik’s hand to her cheek. She couldn’t-- she wouldn’t-- let him go. 

“Do you think you could join me in Lamrian?”

Nik sighed. “I can’t. This is my home.”

“Is there no way? No way at all?”

He touched his forehead to hers. “I don’t know, rook. You know how complicated my life is.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck and gently pulled him closer. “Please, Nik. At least promise you’ll visit.”

He nodded. “Of course. A life without you, Alex… I can’t imagine it. You won’t be rid of me that easily. We went through too much for that to happen.”

That wasn’t enough. “Promise me,” she repeated.

He raised their entwined hands. “This is my first promise, and the second…”

He lowered his head, his lips just inches above hers before he kissed her. He cupped her face, his callused hands kind and gentle. He kissed her sweetly, affectionately, as if she was a treasure he would never find anywhere else. It was almost as if he…

No. It couldn’t be. Could it?

They parted, and once again Alex was struck with how beautiful Nik was. His eyes shone with something pure and light, something so real she could almost touch it. It was almost as if her suspicions were right, and his feelings for her ran so much deeper than she ever thought they would.

And she didn’t know how to feel about that.

“That was a nice promise,” Alex blurted. She needed somehow to break the silence, enough to weaken the breeding grounds of her mischievous thoughts.

Nik smirked. “There’s many more where that came from.”

“Really?”

Nik winked. “Always.”

They continued on their way. Nik still didn’t let go of Alex’s hand, now more a choice than a need. The setting sun colored the city with beautiful shades of orange, pink and purple, adding color and hope to everyones’s lives.

It was beautiful. Night once again approached, but now everything was different.

This time, Alex was free. This time, she knew who to trust. This time... there was finally hope.

[angstmongertina]

A Helping Hand (Cal Lowell/MC)

So in chapter 10, I think that was, if you don’t take the diamond option to summon the lake guardian or whatever, MC actually gets injured (a scratch on the forearm). And me being who I am, I thought it’d be fun to bring that up a little bit more, because beyond that one scene, it was generally ignored.

We’ll just ignore the fact that everyone changed clothes between chapters 10 and 11, yeah?

Aaaaaaa I’m so behind once again. I wanted to write something for Elric too, but I guess I can do that this week as well. ESPECIALLY since I thought of a way to make it a little angsty. :D

AO3 Link

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When Nik first suggested they travel to the sanctuary of Lord Elric, somehow, Silvia was expecting something more… elegant than traipsing through more wilderness. After all, he had been in attendance at Persephone, which should have implied some level of prestige, especially as an apparent member of fae peerage. But instead, there they were, abandoning the car and struggling through yet another murky, swampy forest, for who knew where.

Grimacing, she squinted at the dark shadow of Nik’s back, solid and certain before her, before stumbling over a loose rock. For a moment, she flailed, until Cal grabbed her arm, eyes concerned, and she hissed, her knees nearly buckling under her.

“Silvia!”

She pulled away, waving her other hand at him through watering eyes as she pressed her arm against her stomach. “I—I’m fine. I…”

Before she could force something else through gritted teeth, he reached for her, a gentle hand gripping her shoulder. “You’re not. What…?”

Tentative fingers brushed her arm and she swallowed a sharp gasp, the world suddenly swimming around her. “Nik, Katherine, hold on a moment!”

“What’s wrong? Rook? Talk to me.”

Aaaand there was Nik, all gruff concern and short temper. She sighed, straightening as best she could and shrugging out of Cal’s grasp, or at least attempting to, to no avail. “It’s fine. I’m fine.”

“Silvia? It’s your arm, isn’t it?”

Of course Vera had to get involved too. Even Katherine was watching her with worry instead of impatience, as if she were some sort of fragile damsel who would keel over at the slightest injury.

“And you didn’t say anything?” Nik appeared in front of her, so suddenly that she listed backwards, staying upright only through the support of the hand still clasping her shoulder. And judging from the way his mouth pressed together in that now-familiar scowl, it had not gone entirely unnoticed. “We could have at least stopped and taken care of it!”

She must have scowled; Cal squeezed her shoulder, his face apologetic but no less concerned. “He’s right, you know. You risk infection—”

“With what time? I’d rather have an infection and be alive than caught by that thing and dead!”

“And you’ll be a hell of a lot quicker if we can get that thing treated.”

“You’re the one who said that we only had maybe an hour.” She set her shoulders, glaring at Cal until he released her, and moved to catch up with Katherine, gritting her teeth against the pounding heat seeming to radiate from her forearm. The shout of her name carried over her shoulder but she ignored it other than tossing her braid over her shoulder in an admittedly childish show of defiance.

Katherine’s lips twitched. “Perhaps you’re right…”

“See?” She grinned, triumphant, but before she could so much as turn, Katherine visibly smirked, nodding at someone behind her.

The next second, she found herself lifted bodily into the air and cradled against a warm, familiar, chest as Cal grinned down at her. “That’s fine. This works too.”

“Cal!” She smacked his chest, a gesture which produced as little result as hitting a boulder, and pushed against him, with equal success, meaning none. “Let me down!”

His arms only tightened as he continued moving, clearly taking care to avoid jostling her too much. It was a thoughtfulness that she appreciated… or at least that she would have appreciated were the situation entirely necessary in the first place.

Frowning, she turned her attention to Nik, only to find him wearing a smirk that were eerily similar to Katherine’s. Even Vera looked amused, a feat that, in any other circumstance, she might have appreciated.

Finally, she sighed, turning her gaze back to Cal, who was clearly fighting a chuckle of his own, though his gaze remained firmly forward. “Put me down, please?”

He raised an eyebrow. “Will you let us at least take care of that, then?”

Gritting her teeth, she nodded.

When he set her back on her feet, her legs nearly buckled beneath her and she mumbled under her breath as she forced herself upright, ignoring the concern warring with faint amusement on his face. Thankfully, he said nothing, instead only offering her a hand and guiding them to a fallen tree.

“Wha—?” But before she could finish, Cal was already kneeling at her side and carefully ripping strips from his shirt. “Your shirt, really? This isn’t some TV drama.”

He snorted, though he didn’t pause or look up from his careful examination of her arm. “Hush you, unless… Ryder, you wouldn’t happen to have a roll of gauze in one of those pockets of yours, would you?”

The man in question grimaced. “I figured we’d be traveling light to Chateau des Epoques.”

“Yeah, we’ll make do until we reach Lamrian. It’s all I can do to just clean this up anyway. Give me a sec…” In spite of herself, she flinched as he brushed a finger over the scratch, though somehow, she suspected it was less from the pain and more from the heat of his hand. Regardless, he tightened his other hand around her wrist, eyes apologetic. “I’m sorry, but this is going to sting a little.” He paused, looking up to give her a crooked smile. “Then again, I can’t say this is the worst I’ve seen either.”

She forced a grin in response, pointedly keeping her eyes fixed on his face, a task made considerably easier by his endearing look of concentration as he worked. It was a clear distraction tactic, but one that she appreciated nonetheless. “Oh?”

Even focused as he was, his expression softened, smile turning gentle, as it always did when his brother was involved. “Come on. You can’t possibly be surprised, considering what you’ve seen of Donny.”

In spite of, or perhaps causing, his soothing tone, his ministrations stung and she bit back a hiss with some difficulty. “Perhaps but… I can’t imagine getting attacked by zombies is common?”

He snorted. “You’d think not but I swear, if there was one in the area, he’d somehow find his way into it. Honestly, it’s a wonder we didn’t run into him earlier.” Shaking his head, he raised his gaze, meeting hers with a smile that made her breath catch in her throat. “He’s almost as bad as you.”

She was halfway to returning his smile before her mind caught up. “Hey!” Laughing, she aimed a punch at his shoulder but he danced out of her reach with a teasing grin.

“Too slow.”

Without thinking, she leapt up to chase after him but before she could so much as take a step, Nik jumped between them, a hand outstretched.

“That’s enough, you two. It’s great that you’re feeling better but…” The rest of his sentence—whether or not they had forgotten about the bloodwraith that was still very much chasing after them—was left unsaid, but it was clear enough just based on his tone of voice and his pointedly raised eyebrow.

Trading a guilty look with Cal, she grinned sheepishly. “Sorry. We should… keep going.”

As Nik resumed their trek towards the mysterious Lamrian, she set off in pursuit, though, with warm fingers entwined with hers, a constant reminder that, bloodwraith or not, he would never let harm come to her. And in despite the pain, the exhaustion and the fear racing in the back of her mind, that was enough to keep her moving with a smile.

[garrusknight]

[nightboundfanfiction]

It's Here: Rough Draft Demo

Nightbound II: Return to Lamrian

For a limited time until November 15th, 2023 you can download the most updated demo of the game so far.

Disclaimer: This is a rough draft demo that goes to the beginning of Chapter 3 however many scenes along the way are still incomplete and so you'll see a lot of programmer notes reading "Scene to be written (in more detail)" for example, plus there are still visuals and other things that need to be updated, etc.

If you have the choice between playing on a computer or Android device I recommend a computer. After a struggle I finally managed to upload the Android version but based on testing it's a hit or miss. Some Android devices have worked with the game while others have not for some reason which is an issue we still need to work on going in the future.

Note that this likely will not be the final demo before general release and general release is still a long way away.

Enjoy playing!

[madrut16]

Day 16: Flying High

A/N: Another new pairing and MC to debut! I've been brainstorming the backstory and qualities of Zelenia (my Nightbound MC) and I’m still figuring out exactly what I want her to be like. My warm-up to Nik and hers by default as been kind of slow too because I didn’t do many of the diamond scenes in the beginning but, I kind of like the slow burn it created and now I love them so enjoy. If you want to be easily notified when I write for Nik x MC, you know the drill, let me know under this fic and I will add you to the list!

Also, kind of related, I’ve been brainstorming in my head the plot for a potential crossover fic series with Bloodbound where they have to team up to defeat the order and save mankind and creature kind. It’s still a very casual idea for now bc I tend to have them and for many not to stick but, if people want it and I have enough inspiration when I do try to write it, I’ll make sure that I actually follow through for once. 

Day 16: Uncertainty for @choicesjulychallenge by @kinda-iconic 

(sorry these are so late, life and changing my mind are to blame)

Book/Pairing: Nightbound (Nik x MC)

Rating: PG

Summary: Zelenia gets Nik to conquer one of his biggest fears when shares her favorite hobby with him. 

"Rookie, no."

Zelenia had never seen Nik so frightened before. She remembered his uneasiness of heights when they were in Lamrian but, she didn't think it was this bad.

That is until he confessed during a drunken game of Two Truth's and a Lie with their friends that he'd never been on an airplane before. The idea of being strapped into something that has meant the death of many unnerved him. From that moment, Zelenia, whose reaction to flying was the exact opposite, resolved that this was something she had to fix.

Seeing him slowly coming out of his skin behind her, a teasing smile graced her lips.

"Oh come on Nik, this will be fun. The pilot is very experienced," she commented knowingly giving his shoulder a light squeeze.

He shook his head adamantly at her, eyes full moon wide. "Zelenia no. You know all about why I haven't flown before." He strained to make sure the word fear or it's synonym didn't come out.

She placed her hands on her hips. "That's exactly why you should do it, Nik. Facing your fears is a good thing! And you're completely safe. I wouldn't insist on doing this if I didn't think so." He folded his arms, still not quite ready to budge. With a sigh, she pulled her lips down in a dramatic fake pout. "Please. You trust me, don't you?"

He rolled his eyes at her extreme gesture but she didn't back down. Finally, he let out a defeated groan. "Ugh, fine. But only cause I'm tired of Katy giving me crap about it."

A giant smile that was stunningly real grew on her face and she grabbed onto him excitedly. "I knew I'd be able to coax you into it. Now, follow me. The plane should be over here somewhere."

Before he could answer, she took off down the tarmac of the small airport, leaving him struggling to catch up. They finally stopped in front of a white and blue Cessna that looked like it could seat maybe four people at most.

Zelenia's eyes lit up and she breathed in happily. "It's just like I left it. I was worried that it would get damaged in the transport but, there’s not even a paint chip."

His roaming gaze took in the scene in confusion. "Wait, where's the pilot?"

A snicker escaped her lips, amused that he hadn't figured it out yet. "Nik, you're looking at her."

"You?" He gaped at her in disbelief.

She nodded. "I have the license and everything. My mother finally transported this baby from Wyoming and it arrived a few days ago. I know it's small but, it's surprisingly comfy."

She climbed up into the cockpit in less than a minute and looked back at him with a grin. "You joining me or are you just gonna keep looking at me like that?"

This broke Nik out of his fear laced trance. "Oh, sorry. Just trying to keep from having a damn heart attack. How long have you been doing this exactly?"

Zelenia shrugged as she helped him inside and he begrudgingly strapped himself into one of the seats. "Since I was 17. As soon as I was old enough I started flying lessons and got a private license. And then starting the second year of my bachelor’s I received even more training. You’re in good hands Nik, I promise.”

She used the words carefully, that recent part of her past a mix of emotions tainted by the last year of it and she was just starting to feel okay. Still, it was something she wasn’t quite ready to discuss yet. 

Shaking the memories from her mind, she closed the plane doors and fastened herself in before going through all of the pre-flight procedures. When she was finished, she turned to Nik who was visibly trembling, his eyes darting everywhere in the small space. 

“Ready?” she asked, getting permission from Air Traffic Control to start the engines.

He responded with a grumble, trying to cover up the anxiety he felt. “Ready as I’ll ever be.”

Taking that as a yes, she deftly wheeled the Cessna down the tarmac and onto the correct runway. Once she got the all-clear, the plane rapidly picked up speed causing Nik behind her to grip the seat tightly. After a couple of minutes, the plane lifted off the ground. 

Nik continued to have a death grip on the seat back as his stomach climbed into his throat. “Holy Jesus!”

“Sorry, you get used to that eventually,” Zelenia said sheepishly while keeping her concentration on the controls.

No other words were exchanged as she continued to keep the plane steady the aircraft as it climbed higher in the sky. Eventually, they reached cruising altitude and she finally flattened it out. 

“How are you doing back there?” she asked after a beat, having to shout over the noise from the engine and propellers. 

“Well, I can still hear my heart beating out of my chest like a jackhammer,” he replied. But...”

Zelenia raised a hopeful eyebrow. “But...”

Nik let out a long sigh and his lips ever so slightly began to tilt upwards. “This actually isn’t that bad. I could get used to this.” He visibly began to relax too, his personality slowly coming back up to the surface. 

A victorious grin spread on her face. “Yes! I told you, Ryder. You should really listen to me more often you know. I tend to have amazing ideas.”

He responded with a scoff. “Um, that’s debatable, you have a track record of doing some idiotic things. Punching a ghost?”

“Hey, it worked didn’t it?” she countered. “At least the second time anyway.”  

Nik raised his eyebrows doubtfully. “Still not standard technique Rookie. But, we can agree to disagree on that,” he said before his gaze wandered to the scenery below. “Now this is a sweet view.”

“I know right? You can see everything from up here,” she agreed. 

The bird’s eye perspective they had was simply breathtaking, the image of the emerald green bayou intersecting with lines of shimmering blue. 

This state of tranquility was interrupted when Nik posed a question. “So, let me get this straight, you own this?”

“I do,” Zelenia confirmed. “She was given to me as a high school graduation present from my grandparents. My mom finally sent it from the house in Wyoming a couple of weeks ago and it arrived Monday.”

“She? Got a name for it too?” A throaty laugh erupted from his lips. 

Looking back at him for a split second, she scowled at him before returning her attention to the front. “You say that like it’s a bad thing. And yes, her name is Amelia.”

“Of course it is.”

Zelenia immediately exclaimed, “Hey, she is an icon! It’s because of women like her and Bessy Coleman that I can do this.”

“I know who Amelia Earheart is Zelenia,” he quipped. “Just because I was homeschooled by Elijah doesn’t mean I’m dumb.”

“Didn’t say you were,” she stated. 

After a minute, he suddenly became a touch more serious. “Well, thanks for dragging me out here Rookie. You were right, this was...surprisingly fun. I mean, I’m definitely not cured yet but, I wouldn’t say no to doing this again.”

Her smile returned. “No problem Nik. It’s actually a new experience for me too actually.”

“Hmm? How come?”

She shrugged, biting her lip as her thoughts turned inward like they typically did. “I almost always do this alone, up here, it’s kind of like my little refuge. Ever since I could do so, I’ve used this to escape from the pressure of people, the world. It’s the first place I felt like I belonged and getting my license was the first time, maybe even the only time my mother actually expressed that she was proud of me for something.”

“Zelenia...”

She shook her head. “That’s a topic for another day. My point is, sharing this with someone, with you. It...it means a lot.”

“Glad to know I’m not alone in this.”

Then, a mischevious smirk grew on her face. “Does this mean that I’ll get to show off my stunts someday?”

He shot that down in an instant. “Nope, not a chance Rookie.”

She stuck her tongue out at him. “Fine, Ryder. You can just watch from on the ground then.”

She sighed blissfully, truly carefree for the first time in ages as they continued to get lost in their own little world up in the sky. 

[justanotherdumpingground]

Chapter Reviews: July 2-6, 2019 + Thoughts on BSC Book 2 and BP

Sorry this is later than usual. It's been rather exhausting these past few days.

Wishful Thinking Chapter 13:

Darn. For a moment, I though I'm going to face against Alec and Charlie head on. I guess a little discussing shouldn't hurt. And to be honest, Ellen has a point that planning too much can backfire.

Glad to see that the MC's issues with her dad has been resolved. I feel like it's been a long time coming for him. With that taken care of, it's time for the upcoming showdown.

Sunkissed Chapter 3:

I'm starting to dislike Alexis for assuming Sai's only skill is scooping ice cream. Like, there's more to him than just that. Give him time, girl. Proof that she better grow up or else.

Figures that this story will focus too much on Nate. Like, this story doesn't revolve around him. I don't care that his romance will be the most developed in this story while the other two are shoved aside. I refuse to give Pixelberry too much credit on the romance aspect.

"Where's the marinara sauce?" Oh, man. I think this story just spawned a meme of its own. I might pick it up to express my realization that I'm missing something crucial at a sudden point. I might suit Pixelberry's tendency to forget their love interests they don't favor.

Nightbound Chapter 14:

On the encounter with tialo, I chose the options to not play nice towards him. Sure he's still a kid, but he's a spoiled one who's consumed by his own jealousy. So I chose to be harsh on him.

I adopted the perrikin and named it Fortuna. One thing she said is that the MC must be careful of the jealous one AKA Tialo. Too bad the MC didn't heed that warning, because that would've saved their back. And what's with Tialo being such a dumb brat? Doesn't he realize that disabling Lamrian's wards leaves everyone at risk from the bloodwraith? This guy's worse than Landry Olsen.

Platinum Chapter 7:

Well, it feels weird for the MC realizing that her role model sings ghostwritten songs. Well, I didn't pick the premium option to help her find her voice, and I doubt I will because it's a blatant romance trap.

I was shock and horrified to see Ellen Thompson's model recycled. I know her model is basically Scarlet Emerson's with different hair and clothing, but it's still jarring to see her model reused, especially since she was built up as a love interest in Wishful Thinking.

Man, having Raleigh manipulate the gala host into actually donating the funds he made was fun and satisfying to watch. Turns out being a celebrity has its perks, and I'd like my MC to take advantage of that.

With that said, the last scene with Ellis Knight comes across as ominous. I mean, what on earth was with the scene's portrayal. Dinner at a lavish restaurant and only him present at the spot. At least what he did was tell the MC that her album should be released ASAP, but that could've gone a lot worse. Perhaps the lack of content warning is a factor.

Red Carpet Diaries Chapter 5:

It's about time I finally get to see Victoria. Man, it was nice to see her show her protective side. I need one of her knives to protect myself from whoever invaded the MC's privacy. And it seems that Victoria's realizing that mentoring aspiring actresses is harder than she thought. At least she has her temper under control this time.

I'm with one of the auditioners that the decision to cut Byrony out just because she is merely seen as unnecessary is a bad idea. Sometimes, I wonder why female characters in fiction merely exist as supporting characters as rewards for the male characters. And what's with Seth suddenly landing the role? The scenario just makes him no better than the MC. Not only that, but that means he and Teja will work together on a professional level again. That went terribly in Book 2 because of Pixelberry derailing their personalities, and it doesn't help that easing tensions between them is a premium option. I swear, the film plot is starting to make no sense to be because I didn't pic that option. I think PB hates this story so much that they only lavish their attention on Matt and Hunt.

Why do I have to bring Chazz with me to visit Matt's dad? Glad that there's gonna be Addison Sinclair, but I'd dump Chazz and bring Victoria, Holly, and the ocelot with me instead.

The Elementalists Chapter 13:

Honestly, why is Beckett the one we have yet another premium scene with? Especially since this scene would work much better with Griffin, whose studies involve ecology and disaster relief. Moreover, Beckett just recovered from his injuries and therefore not in the best condition to help. I swear, this is yet another proof of my love-hate relationship with Beckett.

With that aside, I like gaining the wood nymphs' trust. I legit though Aster's grandfather is Groot. That was fun to watch, and I was relieved that he's more accepting of the Pend Pals than Yarrow is. At least Yarrow can be convinced, and talking to Taxus about Aster was nice. Even more so when I got a lovely wand from Taxus.

Now that I've finally found Gemma, I'm starting to wonder whether or not Kane has set up a trap to lure the Pend Pals over. An abandoned house is too convenient of a place for her to be found in. Not to mention that he has sworn revenge against the MC no matter what choices we picked.

Bloodbound Chapter 8:

No way am I abandoning Serafine behind even if it's a premium option. She knows Paris better than Adrian and Jax.

The cryptoferal was really freaky to look at. But at least that creature is no match for the MC, who bashed it hard. Still miffed that I can't afford the next portrait fragment, which I'll get someday.

I didn't bother picking any of the premium options to be with Adrian and Jax, not even the threesome. I heard it's rather problematic because it fetishizes gay male relationships, which is yet another reason not to pick that scene. Anyway, my guess is that the Order of the Dawn and Gaius Augustine establish some sort of evil vs. evil dynamic. Yet at the same time, I still don't have an inside knowledge of the Order. Who knows if there are certain individuals who aren't merciless killers?

Thoughts on BSC Book 2 and BP:

Bold of PB to assume I'd be excited for BSC's return. The story is meaningless romance for most of the time, with the exciting bits about taking down Agracorp. Not to mention that I'm stuck with Sawyer for about 85-90% of the time while the story keeps him underdeveloped. Honestly, this story should've been a standalone where I can choose whether to stay in Montana or not in the finale. At least it's being delayed while the artists try to make a different cover that isn't copied from a romance novel.

After reading the newsletter on what BP could be like, I wonder whether it will be a comedy of sorts like Wishful Thinking, but with more stakes like a run-in with the mafia. Just don't let it degenerate to PTR 2.0.

[nightboundfanfiction]

Announcement!

Hello everyone!

This information is subject to change but I wanted to give an update that right now the projected release date for the next rough draft demo is October 31, 2023!

This will not be an official release launch but simply a rough draft preview of the first 2 chapters plus the start of Chapter 3.

Since it will only be a rough draft not all features (such as new hair and outfits) and bonus scenes will be here and there likely will still be more clean up to do on editing, etc.

Thank you everyone for all of your support!